Overview of the three COPs and their implications for Africa

he $700 million pledged to date only addresses a fraction (0.6%) of the climate-related damages Africa

The Mo Ibrahim Foundation has released a new research brief titled “Latest COPs on climate change, desertification, and biodiversity – Key Outcomes for Africa (2024-25).” The brief provides a detailed overview of the major developments that came out of the three COPs and their implications for Africa.

One of the critical issues explored in the brief is climate finance, with the report highlighting that many of the agreements reached during the summits do not meet Africa’s needs and that financing gaps are widening. This brief is part of the Foundation’s ongoing efforts to articulate Africa’s case and reiterates their call for more and better money allocated to developing nations.

Key findings include:
At COP29, developed nations committed to increasing climate finance to $300 billion annually by 2035, aimed at supporting developing countries. This falls short of Africa’s total climate finance needs of $1.6- $1.9 trillion until 2030.
Despite the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD) being finalised, the $700 million pledged to date only addresses a fraction (0.6%) of the climate-related damages Africa is expected to incur by 2030.
Negotiations surrounding the global goal on adaptation, as outlined in Article 7 of the Paris Agreement, showed promise at COP28, but have subsequently stalled.
The UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCDD) COP16 failed to secure a binding agreement on drought resilience, deferring the issue to COP17, set to take place in Mongolia in 2026. The UNCCD’s estimated financing gap sits at $2.6 trillion by 2030
The recently resumed COP16 in Rome achieved a landmark agreement to mobilise at least $200 billion annually by 2030 to address the biodiversity finance gap.